The Last of the Fallen
by Punk Rock Hippie
Summary: Remus Lupin attends the funeral of the last of his friends.


First and foremost, this was already planned, but I decided to write it sooner as opposed to later for Mighty Lord Moldy-Shorts

The Last of The Fallen

Remus Lupin had not had a great life. By most standards, the man had even lived in hell. At a very young age he was bitten by a werewolf and was infected with Lycanthrope. From there, his life only went downwards. Now, he stood with Abigale and Christine Pettigrew, the only living family members of his late best friend Peter Pettigrew at the later's funeral.

The previous day he had attended service for Lily and James Potter, which had been not only a funeral but a celebration for others. He, as one of the Potter's closer friends left before the guests attended the party being held at his former Professor's house. For him, this was still not happiness. He had lived his life imprissoned as a wolf until he had met Sirius, James and Peter, and now he was imprissoned once more.

Peter's service was held on the farm that his parents had owned for the past thirty or so years. His father had been murderd by death eaters when they were only third years, Remus had not been able to attend that service due to it falling on a morning after a full moon. This was only the second funeral he had attended in his lifetime and hoped that it would be the last.

The only other wizard present outside himself and teh Pettigrews was a pastor who had agreed to do teh service on the farm. There was no caskut for Peter like the Potters, only a small box that contained the last remaining part of him; his finger.

"Thank you again for comming." Abigale Pettigrew said as the Pastor got ready to conduct the service. Remsu nodded, unsure of what the proper response should be.

"He was afterall my best friend." He found this comment to be absurd when spoken aloud as he had always thought of Sirius and James to be his "best friends" also, yet for teh first time he realized the truth. All the years they had known eachother, it had been James and Sirius and Remus and Peter on teams together, or visiting eachother durring the summer months.

"If you will all be seated, I am ready to begin." The pastor, who was a muggle, announced. Remus took a seat to the left of Peter's mother and his great aunt took the seat on the other side as the pastor spoke. What exactly the pastor said, Remus did not hear.

While the pastor spoke Remus couldn't help but relive moments from his past, nights spent at Hogwarts. He rememberd when he had first met Perter, on teh Hogwarts express briefly and then in the boats afterward with Sirius and James. That day had cemented their friendship. Not just that day though, because there had been so many other moments he and Peter shared at Hogwarts worrying about their exams while Sirius and James played some stupid game.

First year, Peter had gotten him a quick qoutes quill for Christmas, something Remus had wanted to take notes in class but did not have the money to purchase himself. That single act had always stood out in Remus' mind. Whereas the rest of the world, including Sirius most of the time, saw Peter as a weak and ill trained wizard, Remus saw him as a caring friend.

Without realizing it, Remus began to weep. He didn't just weep for the death of his friend, but for his innocence. He had trusted Sirius, and this is what he got. Peter was not the most well trained wizard and he knew it. Why had he gone after Sirius? He should have known that Sirius was stronger with a wand.

Alas, the pastor stopped speaking and Remus realied taht although he was crying, he was also holding Peter's mother who was also crying. He wished that he could do something for this woman to show her how great her son was, or to comfort her in some way but knew he could not. Only one thought came to mind, one thought that broke his heart.

Since the day he had goen to the Potter's house in Godric's Hollow, Remus had carried with him a muggle picture that James had posessed of the boys when they were at Hogwarts together. The exact time period, he was not sure, his guess was third or fourth year and taken by Lily. He had planned on keeping this picture, the only picture he knew of with all four of them where James and Sirius weren't making a face or goofing off. He reached into his robe pocket and pulled the picture out of his pocket and examined it one last time.

He stood on the left hand side of the picture, his arms crossed and trying to look professional. Peter was on the right side of the picture leaning on a lamp post nest to James who was sitting on a rock holding his precious broomstick. Sirius was between he and James, leaning on James, a gigantic grin on his face. This was how Remus wanted to remember his friends. To him Sirius died the day Lily and James did. With one last glance, he passed the picture to Abigale Pettigrew.

"I-I want you to have this." Remus said reluctantly as he rose to his feet. "I found it at Lily and James' and I think you should have it." Mrs. Pettigrew looked at the picture and then back to Remus with a small smile through the tears.

"Thank you Remus." she replied as she too rose to her feet and began to wipe her tears away.

By now the pastor was standing aside wishing to speak to Mrs. Pettigrew, so Remus decided it was time that he take leave. He wanted more then anything to be away from this place and to put the last two days in the past. "Mrs. Pettigrew, I'm sorry but I must be off. I have a long trip home and I dont particularly like the feeling of apperating."

A sad look crossed Mrs. Pettigrew's face and she nodded. "I guess it's just as hard for you as it is for me. I had hoped you would stay for dinner Remus, but maybe you could join me another time."

Remus nodded. "That sounds like a plan." He really did like the idea, and he hadn't planned on staying away like he did. This was his best friend's mother and all, but in the end he did what he was most comfortable with and stayed away after that day. Remus hugged both Pettigrews and said goodbye to them and the pastor before he walked on down the road a ways and disapperated.

Like his staying away, he had not intended on lying to Mrs. Pettigrew, it had just come natural as a way of getting out of there quicker. He knew Peter would forgive him as he was never good at making up a good excuse. He just hoped he had not offeneded Mrs. Pettigrew in doing so.

Remus apperated to the home he had grown up in, teh one that his parents had left him two years ago. It wasn't the greatest place in the world, but to him it was the only home he had aside from Hogwarts. He lay down and driffted off to sleep in his clothes, ready to go searching for a job the next morning.

Over the next year he wrote Mrs. Pettigrew weekly as a comfort for both he and her. Eventually however, her handwritting got be be too bad for him to be able to read and she quit writting. When she died three years later, he did not attend the funeral but sent flowers. Sadly, with all of her living family gone, nobody attended the funeral except neighbors and her estate was left to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


End file.
